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Redskins: It’s time to consider parting ways with Jay Gruden

By Jacob Camenker

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins stands on the sidelines during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins stands on the sidelines during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Sean McVay head coach of the Los Angeles Rams during the game against the Washington Redskins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Sean McVay head coach of the Los Angeles Rams during the game against the Washington Redskins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

Gruden’s offense has regressed since the departure of Sean McVay

Speaking of Sean McVay, it’s clear that the Redskins are missing him right now. The 31-year-old head coach of the Los Angeles Rams was thought to be a minor loss this offseason, but many thought that Gruden would be able to seamlessly replace him as the top offensive mind on the team. That hasn’t been the case.

All the way across the country, McVay has taken over the Rams and has done a marvelous job recreating the team. By adding two veteran offensive linemen to the squad, McVay has turned Jared Goff into a quality NFL starter and is currently leading the No. 4 ranked offense in terms of yardage in L.A. This was similar to the work he had done in his final season with the Redskins, where he led them to the No. 3 offense in the league.

While McVay has been doing all that, Gruden has been largely watching his offense regress in key areas. As of this writing, Gruden’s offense ranks No. 11 in the league in total yards and is No. 14 in total points. Both numbers are above average, but not close to the elite unit that the team had last year. Of course, part of that can be blamed on the departure of key receiving personnel, but we’ll get into that later.

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What Washington is currently missing is McVay’s ability to turn water into wine on the offensive side of the ball. The Redskins have dealt with a ridiculous amount of injuries this year, but Gruden hasn’t always been able to play adequately to compensate for them, as seen by the issues with pass protection against Dallas. If McVay was still in town, the team may have had a better chance to quickly adjust the offense on the fly, something that hasn’t worked well with Gruden and Matt Cavanaugh. There’s no knowing if that would be true, but having a guy with McVay’s offensive acumen would definitely help the team.

At the end of the day, this is what it boils down to. McVay was gifted an extremely flawed offense in Los Angeles and he has led them to an 8-3 record. Gruden’s offense is flawed as well, but it possesses a true franchise quarterback in Kirk Cousins. And Gruden’s squad is just 5-7. Again, there are other factors leading to that disappointing record, but Gruden’s ability as a head coach is definitely a big part of that.

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